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Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three counts and the nation is stunned
Across the nation, people hollered, wept, and honked horns. They stopped what they were doing to observe and to tune in to any television, livestream, or social media around 5 p.m. EST— all to hear the verdict in the case of Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd.
Minneapolis braced for violence, its very leadership used to the legal backlash that happens when police officers hardly ever pay any significant price for the murder of Black and Brown people. Truth be told, nearly every major city braced — fully expecting a not guilty verdict as is the usual outcome of such situations. But not this time.
This time the jury got it right.
Chauvin was found guilty on three counts. Count one: intentional second-degree murder. Count two: third-degree murder. Count three: second-degree manslaughter.
“Now we can breathe.” That’s according to Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former president of the Minneapolis NAACP.
Sentencing will occur in around eight weeks. Chauvin could possibly serve more than 25 years in prison if his anticipated appeals fall flat. Of course, he is expected to appeal, so this conversation will resume at some point in the future. Some experts have said that the judge could approve up to 75 years in jail. There are three additional trials coming for the other officers involved in the murder of Floyd.
Meanwhile, bail was revoked and Chauvin goes to jail for the time being. (Note he was out walking free for this entire time period.) And, as Gayle King said on CBS: “When the verdict was read at 5:06 our time. We started hearing horns honking. I think we felt jaws dropping. People thought maybe you get one but to get all three is a very stunning thing. To get a unanimous verdict on all three charges is dynamic.”
